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Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen has urged the pharmaceutical companies to take an initiative to manufacture medical equipment and devices locally in order to reduce the financial burden on patients and save foreign exchanges.
The minister made the call while inaugurating the 15th Asia Pharma Expo 2024 (APE 2024) and ASIA LAB EXPO 2024, an international trade platform on pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, on Thursday as the chief guest.
The three-day international exhibition is being held at Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Rupganj, Narayanganj.
"Heart stents, catheters or many other medical devices are expensive and they cost a huge amount of money to import. This puts economic pressure on the patients. If local drug companies make medical devices, common people will benefit," the health minister said.
"You (drug companies) can also export locally made medical devices," he added.
Dr. Sen said Bangladesh meets 98 per cent of domestic demand for medicines and also exports to 157 countries. "It's a big success."
At the programme, Nazmul Hassan Papon, Minister for Youth and Sports and former president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), said the health sector is one of the sectors that will face the most challenges after the country graduates from the LDC status in 2026.
"Being a member of WTO, Bangladesh will not be able to enjoy the facility of manufacturing medicines [without providing money for patents] after 2026," he explained.
Adequate and strong preparations are needed to face the potential challenges, he added.
Meanwhile, BAPI President and Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited Abdul Muktadir claimed that compared to the international market, the price of medicines in Bangladesh are 30 per cent lower.
He told reporters after the event that the prices of raw materials of medicine, packages and salaries of workers have increased in the last four years.
"Still, we are selling the medicines at the previous price (when the dollar rate was Tk 86), which is 30 per cent less than the international market prices," he said, hinting at a possible price hike of medicines in the future.
Prices of few medicines have been adjusted not hiked, he claimed, adding that some others would be adjusted with the current dollar rate.
The health minister, however, said that at the moment no decision has been taken regarding the price of medicines.
A decision would be made after discussion with the stakeholders, he said, emphasizing that the prices of medicines would be kept affordable.
More than 751 companies from 36 countries are taking part in the exhibition and showcasing the complete spectrum of pharma manufacturing.